


I Could Bring You Back (We Don't Belong Here)

by frnktricerotops (thebrickfireplace)



Category: Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Gen, minor depictions of murder, minor depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:33:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6127768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebrickfireplace/pseuds/frnktricerotops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh is a ghost. Tyler is the detective in charge of investigating his murder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the wonderful and amazing la_the_bananaman

Tyler rubbed at his eyes, feeling the ache arising behind them subside slightly. He folded his hands in front of his face, letting out a deep sigh. This case was taking a toll on him, more so than any of the others he'd worked on so far.

Four murders in the last two months, and not a single suspect. 0.002% of the town had been murdered, and Tyler had a feeling that it would 0.0025% before a suspect was identified.

He heard the door to his office open, and he lifted his face from his hands to greet his guest. Noting that it was only Jenna, he let his face plop back down. She flopped into one of the chairs across from his desk with a huff, and he silently slid a copy of the case file over to her.

"No luck?"

Tyler shook his head, sighing again.

"It'll come," Jenna soothed. "You just need to get some rest and come back tomorrow. Come on, I'll drive you home."

"Not so fast Detective Black," said a new voice from the doorway. Tyler let his head his desk--he knew there was only one reason that Pete would be in his office, but he didn't want to acknowledge the gut feeling that told him 0.0025% had been reached far sooner than they'd hoped. "You and Detective Joseph are needed at a crime scene."

* * *

Tyler thought he was going to be sick. The fourth victim had been left in bad shape, but this was something else entirely. The only thing recognizable about this guy was his bright red hair and the tattoo sleeve on his right arm.

Tyler knew this was the same killer he had been chasing; the deep, jagged slash across the man's throat made the bile in Tyler's own throat rise in a rush of guilt. He made eye contact with Jenna across the room and gestured that he was going to step outside. She nodded, casting a sympathetic look towards him, which Tyler chose to ignore.

Stepping out from the crime scene, he slid miserably down the wall. Closing his eyes, he sighed, resolving himself to re-enter the apartment and finally bring justice to the five murdered men. Having steeled himself, Tyler opened his eyes to find a man with bright red hair and tattoos covering his right arm staring down at him.

A million questions raced through his mind, but all that came out was a squeaked "what?"

The man smiled and offered his hand to Tyler who regarded it warily before reaching up to grab it. As his hand passed through the man's, he gasped, and the man's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Then, he smiled down at Tyler again, as if sharing a secret.

"Sorry," the man laughed. "I assumed that since I'm not floating through the floor right now, I was solid enough. Guess not."

Again, all Tyler could produce was a whimpered "what?"

The man continued staring at him, clearly confused as to Tyler's confusion, but Tyler stayed still, waiting for an explanation or for someone to come around the corner shouting that he just got Punk'd. When no shouting came from down the hall, he returned his puzzled gaze to the man standing above him.

"Oh!" exclaimed the man, as though he'd just had an epiphany. "I'm Josh, and I'm here to help you solve my murder."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I'm sorry this took so long you guys.  
> As always, thanks to my amazing girlfriend for betaing and also being my girlfriend.

“Tyler!”

Tyler blearily opened his eyes, taking his surroundings as they slowly came into focus. Ratty apartment hallway, questionable stairs, flickering fluorescent light. Josh, leaning against the wall casually, and Jenna, who was yelling his name and looking at him with an odd mix of annoyance and concern.

He’d seen that look before.

“Are you okay? Do I need to call Pete? Do you need to be taken off the case? Was it the guts? _Are you okay?”_

Tyler stared at her blankly before realizing that it’s probably be best if he answered before Jenna worked herself into a brain aneurysm.

“Oh yeah,” he said shakily, trying to figure out a way to make passing out not seem so bad. “I’m just tired. This case has been...” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Jenna merely gaped, and had just opened her mouth to say something to him when one of the CSI guys poked his head out of the open apartment door.

“Detectives, we’re through in here if you want to take a look around.”

Jenna nodded and followed him into the apartment, and gave Tyler a glance that told him to come in whenever he was ready and not in danger of contaminating the crime scene with his face.

Josh was still leaning against the wall, as though Tyler hadn’t just fainted and Jenna and the CSI dude hadn’t just been discussing his dead body.

“Did you talk to her?”

At his words, Josh lifted his eyes from the floor before shaking his head.

“I don’t think she can see me.”

Tyler closed his eyes and let his head hit the wall with a solid thud. Great, he really was losing it. Deciding not to dwell on it anymore, he got to his feet, realizing only a second too late that standing up was a bad idea. His vision started going dark at the edges, and he saw Josh move forward as if to catch him before feeling something cold pass through him. Tyler braced his hands on the wall until he was certain that he wasn’t going to faint again when he felt the coldness pass through once more, making the breath catch in his lungs and his heart clench.

Josh materialized in front of him, still looking ready to catch Tyler if he fell.

“You need to stop doing that,” Tyler gasped out. “I feel violated.”

“ _Y_ _ou_ need to not make stupid choices. Like standing up too quickly. Now go before Jenna gets worried about you.”

Tyler nodded and walked back into the apartment, knowing that Josh was following a step behind.

The scene wasn’t any easier to take in than it was the first time that he saw it. Josh--the victim--was still spread-eagle on the bed, skin peeled off, organs spilling out onto the bed, brown eyes staring blankly at the wall. Tyler stepped closer, procuring a pair of rubber gloves from his back pocket before snapping them on and joining Jenna at the side of the bed. Tyler looked at Jos-- _the victim--_ before deciding to start with the hands.

It turned out to be a good decision, the nails were torn and bloody from Josh trying to protect himself. Tyler looked closer, noticing something dark under one of Josh’s nails.

“If it’s the clothing scrap you’re looking at, one’s already being sent to the lab.”

Tyler startled at the voice from behind him, but settled when he realized that it was just CSI Guy. Tyler nodded his thanks, and CSI Guy offered him a shy smile.

Tyler was about to turn back to Josh when he saw Josh out of the corner of his eye. Or rather Josh’s ghost. Or spirit. Or whatever part of him he was talking to earlier. Josh was staring intently at his body, his eyes betraying no emotion but shining with tears nonetheless. Tyler stepped closer to him, gently asking if he was okay.

Josh turned his sad gaze to Tyler, “At least it looks as bad as it felt.”

Tyler swallowed the bile threatening to rise in his throat and announced to Jenna that there was nothing else they could do there.

“Josh Dun, male, twenty seven years old,” Pete tossed a manila folder down on Tyler’s desk with a thud.

“This is, uh, quite the file,” Tyler said.

“Yeah, guy kept getting in trouble for prostitution. Lots of arrests, no jail time, no paid fines, and about ten different names given to the police.”

Tyler raised an eyebrow and thanked Pete as he headed out.

“Really? Prostitution?”

Josh shrugged from where he was sprawled in the chair across from Tyler. “It pays the bills.”

“Yeah but--”

“Look, stop. If you don’t want to help me now because you know that I turned tricks for a living, just say so.”

“No, no that’s not it.”

“Well then what is it?”

“I’m trying to figure out if that’s what the others did too.”

“‘The others?’”

It hadn’t occurred to Tyler that Josh didn’t know that he was the fifth victim of this killer. He swiveled in his chair and pulled the files from the cabinet behind him. “Micah Nichols,” he said, throwing the file down on the desk. “Aaron Chapman. Evan Stride. Cade Eddowes.” Each name resulted in another file being thrown on the desk. If Tyler had thought it possible, he would’ve said that Josh became paler.

“I knew all of them,” Josh murmured quietly. “I thought that they had made enough and hopped the first bus outta here. I thought they’d gone somewhere better than here.”

“Maybe they have,” Tyler said gently, as though he were speaking to a nervous kitten. “You don’t know, maybe there is an afterlife.”

Josh snorted. “All I know is that if I become solid, my spirit will burn itself out and I won’t get a shot at heaven or hell.”

“How do you know that?”

Josh looked as though he’d never considered that. “I just...know, I guess. It’s like how no one ever remembers learning the words to Mr. Brightside. You’re just born knowing. Or just die knowing. However you wanna take that. But that’s not important, what _is_ important is getting this guy before he can get even more of us.”

“How many of you are there? Sex workers I mean?”

Josh snorted. “There’s more prostitutes than the town likes to admit, I’ll tell you that.”

“Should we warn them?”

“Can switching to Geico really save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance?”

“No need to be sassy, I’ll send out a call.”

Josh hesitated a moment before forcing out a thank you. Tyler nodded, opening Josh’s file, eyes immediately landing on the list of next-of-kin.

It was a start, at least.


End file.
